Tablet Gaming: A Revolution at Your Fingertips
Gaming on the go once meant dealing with pixelated screens and rudimentary controls on handheld devices that you’d probably paid too much money for.
Fast forward to today, and tech has come a long way – we have sleek and powerful tablets that can run really respectable, advanced games, and the evolution of tablet technology has redefined mobile gaming.
Tablets can do a whole lot that we’d have maybe assumed beyond their reach. Look at somebody drawing using a tablet now and you’ll see that this tool can enhance rather than limit possibilities. Games are no different, and compared to some of the games of bygone eras we’re living in a golden age, really.
How did we get here?
Tablet Gaming: A Journey
The journey of tablet gaming began with simple, casual games that were easy to pick up and play, actually, it mimicked the way that the games industry in general started when PCs and consoles were way more limited, and early tablets had limited processing power and graphical capabilities.
At the time, games were mostly puzzle-based or 2D platformers and they were incredibly popular and showcased the potential of tablets as gaming devices.
The touch-screen interface introduced a new way of interacting with games, making them accessible to a wider audience.
It didn’t take long for the gambling industry to enhance what was available to gamers wanting to use their tablets. Casino and table games worked for this simple world of gaming.
Roulette was a perfect example and developers just had to make a pretty simple interface to make this old-fashioned game available on tablets – new players could choose to play roulette online for real money in the relatively early days of the tablet.
Other casino games followed, and there were a lot of different ways for people to play, but eventually, the games became more 3D and changed in their complexity. Tablets came closer to consoles in what they were offering.
Newly designed innovations and tablets like Apple’s iPad Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab S series became powerful enough to handle high-end games with top visuals and smooth performance. Xbox Cloud Gaming has further expanded the possibilities, allowing players to stream AAA games directly to their tablets.
Mobile Game Development
Tablets grew in popularity and new developers saw an opportunity. Some games went from being relative unknowns to massive sensations. Indie games (some of which were made by tiny teams) also had the power to go viral and become really popular.
Game engines like Unreal Engine made it easier for developers to create visually impressive and mechanically complex games that even work well on mobile platforms. This led to the release of many high-quality games specifically designed to leverage the capabilities of modern tablets.
Developers began to see tablets as viable platforms for delivering rich gaming experiences, which led to a surge in the variety and quality of games available.
Types of Games That Are Popular to Play on Tablets
Mobile devices and tablets have changed a lot for players but there are some types of games and genres that tend to translate best to a handheld device. Games that don’t take up too much time or need huge screens to see what is going on, for instance.
Casual Games
Casual games are a staple of tablet gaming. These games are designed for short, enjoyable play sessions and are perfect for unwinding, some of them have silly principles, can you remember playing a game where plants took on zombies? For tablets, it is ideal, the game didn’t take up too long and tablet graphics could do it justice.
Puzzle Games
Similar aspects of gaming make puzzles good for mobile games, and puzzle-style adventure games have always been popular on mobile devices. Monument Valley is an example of beautiful visuals and thought-provoking puzzles.
A lot of puzzle games take full advantage of the tablet’s touch screen, creating unique and engaging gameplay experiences that aren’t limited in the way they could be if you were using a controller.
Learning Games
“Gamifying” learning has become a big buzzword in some industries and helps people to make learning a more enjoyable process. Duolingo might be the top example for those who want to learn languages, and it has fun gameplay with learning objectives.
Games leverage the interactive capabilities of tablets to provide engaging and effective learning experiences and allow people to get to grips with a new language before the next trip they take.
Conclusion
Loads of types of games can work on tablets and Xbox is trying to make the experience more similar to console gaming by adding methods for players to control their console games via an iPad or other tablet.
In the future, options are inevitably going to get even wider and players will have more choices for how they play on the go.

Jim’s passion for Apple products ignited in 2007 when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. This was a canon event in his life. Noticing a lack of iPad-focused content that is easy to understand even for “tech-noob”, he decided to create Tabletmonkeys in 2011.
Jim continues to share his expertise and passion for tablets, helping his audience as much as he can with his motto “One Swipe at a Time!”